A Time For Us
by little.pink.raspberry
Summary: Oneshot/Sequel to THANK YOU, TSUCHIURA. Tsuchiura disliked Christmas, but his bad impression on Christmas was washed off due to someone. Tsuchiura x Kaji, slight Len x Hino. Slight shonen-ai.


Story: A Time For Us

Anime: La Corda d'Oro

Pairings: Tsuchiura x Kaji

Ratings: K+

A/N: this is actually a sequel to **THANK YOU, TSUCHIURA**. But for those who didn't read that story, it's about: _Tsuchiura helped Kaji regain his confidence to play his violin once again_.

**A Time For Us**

Tsuchiura grabbed the jacket resting on the armchair of the seat nearby the piano chair and hurried across the corridor. It's snowing outside and he could even feel the chills from the music room. One of the reasons he really disliked Christmas. The weather freezes him to his bone, and he hardly has anything interesting to do during this celebration. It's not like he have anyone in particular to date, and it pisses him off even more when he sees couples filling the streets under the snow. But apparently this year he would try something different. He would ask a particular person out on Christmas for a date.

He walked along the roadside, his sneakers marking footprints on the soft snow. It was when he saw the person that was able to stop his heart beat.

_Hino. _

She was standing under a tree, her hands wrapping around her shoulders as shiver took over her body, and she shook. Tsuchiura hurried towards her while his hands worked to remove his jacket from his own shivering self. _She must be really cold_, he thought, _what is she doing outside when it's snowing so heavily? _

Then he saw another man approaching her from the other side, "Kaho!" Tsuchiura brought his steps slowly to a stop, his eyes widen at what he knew was going to happen; Hino tiptoed and pecked a kiss on Tsukimori's cheek. It was the first he actually saw the gloomy Tsukimori smiled, and he looked dashingly handsome. Not to mention that Hino looked really beautiful in her up-curved lips, and she tangled her hands in Tsukimori's arms.

_So it's… a date? With Tsukimori?_

Tsuchiura forced a smile on his face, despite the feeling of his inner heart cracking.

This is why he really hated Christmas. It's cold, the glistening white snow signifies loneliness, and he's all alone. He was lonely, he hated to admit. He turned his back towards the couple and left the scene, leaving no evidence of his presence.

* * *

"Tsuchiura-kun," Kaji greeted his friend, "You look down, is something bothering you?"

Tsuchiura woke up from his thought of the painfully sweet scene he saw a couple of minutes ago, "Ah, no, I'm just feeling cold." He paused and looked at Kaji, "Do you have time? Let's have some _sake_."

Tsuchiura was smiling, but somehow it felt different, the smile was clearly made-up and fake. Something must have gone wrong, Kaji could feel, this wasn't the happy-go-lucky friend he knew.

"Alright."

They headed to the nearest _sake_ shop and ordered three bottles of Japanese rice wine. Tsuchiura immediately grabbed the small glass cup and poured the first batch of wine into it. The liquid was then swallowed eagerly down his throat. Kaji merely stared at the man before him.

"Tsuchiura-kun, do you mind if I ask what happened?" Kaji threw his question straight forward, he didn't even mind asking _if anything happened_ but _what actually happened_. Something was definitely wrong; but Tsuchiura only kept to himself. Besides taking in cups and cups of _sake_ continuously, he refused to say a word.

Kaji sank his back to the cushion, this isn't getting anywhere. All he could do was to watch his friend goggling up the soon emptying wine and not able to stop him. He heard his hand phone rang and excused himself to answer the call. Promptly he picked up the call when he was finally outside the shop, "Ah, Hino-san!"

…

"Eh, you can't come for the party tomorrow?"

…

"You mean with, Tsukimori-san's parents?"

…

"Owh, okay… Uhm, good luck with Tsukimori-kun." Last said and he hanged up the phone. _Is this why Tsuchiura-kun was upset? _

Kaji hurried back into the shop but to his horror, Tsuchiura ordered three more bottles of sake and was helping himself with the fourth bottle already. "Tsuchiura-kun!" he grabbed the bottle from Tsuchiura; apparently Tsuchiura stopped pouring the _sake_ into the cup but he drank straight from the bottle itself, "This is ridiculous, please stop this!"

Tsuchiura struggled to keep the bottle from Kaji's reach, "Don't disturb me, please just leave me alone."

"That's nonsense. Give me that bottle," Kaji wasted no time snatching the bottle from Tsuchiura, but his friend was fast enough to grab it back despite his semi-drunken state. More customers were staring at those two struggling, but neither cared. Kaji's mind worked better, he took out his wallet and placed some money on the table. "We're leaving," he yelled to the shop keeper, "You can keep the change." He turned to Tsuchiura, "Let's leave," and he dragged his friend out.

Outside the shop Tsuchiura struggled to free himself from Kaji's strong grip, "What is wrong with you?!" He managed to push Kaji away, careful not to break the sake bottle he brought from the shop, "You have no rights to interfere all my doings."

"As a friend, yes I have. I'll send you back to your house. Where do you stay---careful!"

The warning came too late, Tsuchiura stumbled and fell, the glass bottle broke and the sharp pieces sliced the man's flesh. Kaji was horrified when he saw the white snow slowly stained by a bloody red liquid. "Tsuchiura-kun!"

Kaji was even more alarmed when he saw Tsuchiura's unmoving body; it was as stiff as stone. He kneeled next to him, inspecting his injuries, "Tsuchiura-kun, your hand's bleeding heavily!" He received no answer, apparently his friend passed out. _Too much sake, it seems_. He fished for his handkerchief and bandaged the wound temporarily; he had no choice but to bring Tsuchiura back to his house.

* * *

Feeling his head as heavy as if being squashed by a gigantic rock, Tsuchiura forced his eyelids open. The house was warm, though he didn't know whose house it belonged to. He tried sitting up, the dizziness worsen as he was doing so. It was then when he felt the stinging pain on his palm.

_I was injured? Where am I?_

Slowly he remembered his ridiculous self, yelling and drinking in the _sake_ shop, embarrassing both himself and Kaji… Kaji. _Is this Kaji-kun's house?_ His eyes scanned around the house and he almost instantly saw a figure lying on the opposite sofa, deep asleep. The blond looked remarkably beautiful when he was sleeping, especially his eyelashes; fluttering slightly as he breathes in and out. He brought his feet together and walked to his companion, but his feet soon gave away, his world swoon and he fell with a thud to the marble floor. Eventually, Kaji woke up with a start.

"Tsuchiura-kun," he rushed to his friend, "You're awake, are you alright?" Kaji's hands held onto Tsuchiura's, "Your hand's injured, you shouldn't be moving around. After all, it's partly my fault that you've got hurt."

"Nahh, it's nothing, really, sorry for troubling you. I think it's better for me to head home now, it's getting dark," Tsuchiura flinched when he accidentally pressed on his wound; the white bandage was slowly marked with blood again.

"What do you mean by 'it's nothing'?" Kaji snapped, "You're a pianist, a great one on top of that. Your hand represents your life; you should treasure it, and not hurting yourself like that." Tsuchiura kept quiet upon hearing Kaji's snapping, for once he felt awkward around his friend. He didn't know how to answer him.

Kaji must have realized the awkwardness, he quickly added, "S-Sorry, I got carried away. But it's getting late, won't you mind staying here? My parents are out so it's alright." The blond flashed a warm smile to the green haired pianist.

Tsuchiura thought his breathe hitched when Kaji smiled. Mentally, he slapped himself for having such…weird thoughts for his friend. "Alright then," he still felt the dizziness anyway, "But I'll need to borrow your phone."

The blond smiled again, "It's over there," he gestured to the left, "I'll prepare dinner then." Said that and he left to the kitchen, gathering the vegetables and kitchen utensils.

Tsuchiura headed to the house phone, and dialed his house number. He waited for the other side to pick up the phone, "Hi, mum. I'll be staying over my friend's house today, so I won't be coming back home."

…

"Harh?! I'm not dating anyone, mum."

…

"It's a guy, mum. NOT a GIRL."

…

"Mum, I told you…"

…

"Alright, alright, bye." He clicked the phone shut. _This must be the worst Christmas celebration ever_. He sighed, _looks like I'll have to spend Christmas alone again this year_.

The smell of the food snapped him out of his thoughts, his feet brought himself nearer to the kitchen, the aroma was temptingly strong and attracting. His gaze moved to the person stir frying the chicken and vegetables; he didn't know Kaji was capable of cooking, unlike most of the boys. Tsuchiura offered his help to at least cook the rice, since he wasn't able to help in preparing the dishes.

One by one the table was filled with plates of mouth-watering food; both helped themselves to feed their starving stomachs.

Tsuchiura felt way better now, compared to when he saw Hino with Tsukimori; it seems like spending time with Kaji isn't really a bad idea. He was snapped out of his thoughts again when he heard his friend spoke to him, "Tsuchiura-kun, was Hino-san the reason you've been so upset?"

Tsuchiura's movement stopped abruptly; he felt the question shot through his heart, "W-What are you talking about, there is no such thing like that." He looked down to his bowl of rice, "Hino liked Tsukimori, that's very obvious."

"You like Hino-san, don't you?"

Tsuchiura glared at his friend, "Excuse me?"

"I said you liked Hino, am I not right?" Kaji's glare was as cold as Tsuchiura's.

"Quit talking to me like that, do not try to interfere with my life."

"I am your friend, Tsuchiura, so don't keep things away from me like you are now."

"You can't do anything, don't you get it?!"

"At least I'm beside you! At least I can share your problems. At least I can lessen your burden. At least," Kaji's voice now merely a whisper, "I didn't turn your smile upside down."

Tsuchiura hid his head in his palm, he didn't want to argue, he just wanted a peaceful environment, his mind keep telling to stay calm, "I'm sorry for yelling. I shouldn't have stayed here at the first place."

"No, no," Kaji corrected himself, "I was being really harsh, sorry." He flashed Tsuchiura a weak smile and continued their dinner in silence.

* * *

"Uh, hey."

Kaji switched his gaze from the sky to his friend approaching his balcony, a towel covering his wet, tousled hair. He smelled like strawberry shampoo; so girlish, yet so masculine. His features stand out even more when the moonlight shone from the balcony, Kaji thought his heart skipped a beat when he saw the man in front of him.

"Tsuchiura-kun, you're done washing up?"

"Uhm. Yeah. Done." Tsuchiura looked away from Kaji before he continued, "I apologize for the incident just now. I was rude." He felt so embarrassed that a slight blush started to spread across his cheek bone, "Sorry."

"Ah, no, no," Kaji smiled, "It was partly my fault too. _I_ was the one being rude, not you. Therefore, it's a draw?"

"Eh? Uhm."

"But Tsuchiura-kun," Kaji's voice was as gentle as possible, "If you need to talk, I'm here for you. You can trust me."

As stubborn as he is, Tsuchiura kept avoiding Hino's topic, "Nothing important really, it's just that I really hated Christmas." He moved towards Kaji, his arm resting on the railings, "The white snow was pale; it creates loneliness, the wind was cold; it makes you long for a companion, and…" Tsuchiura's voice almost inaudible, "It's even worse when you do not have your special someone to spend this long weather with."

Kaji looked into the pair of soft eyes, "But Tsuchiura-kun, you shouldn't run. You have to face Hino-san and Tsukimori-kun bravely."

Tsuchiura's eyes were as big as saucers.

"It was you who thought me not to run from reality. It was you who brought me out of the ring that bounded me for years. It was because of you," his voice was steady, "that I faced my violin again. I don't want to see someone so strong to be broken down just because of some romance issues."

"Kaji-kun…"

He placed his hands on Tsuchiura's shoulders. "It is true that one can feel loneliness from the pale white snow and the longing for a presence in the cold wind. But because of that, one can always find another person as companion, be it a lover or even a friend. You will always have someone around you, Tsuchiura-kun."

A long pause hung around them, before Tsuchiura decided to give his smile a try, "Thank you for consoling me. I appreciate it."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes," he smiled, "But do you mind playing me a song? I feel like listening to your violin again."

Soon Tsuchiura found himself standing in front of a violinist, the cooling weather somehow felt warm as it accompanied the slow repertoire of Kaji's violin, his hair moving swiftly along with the comfortable breeze and the harmonious melody, just like the first song they've played together. He felt his heart cracking, but it's for the better, definitely for a better turn. He felt lighter, as if a heavy burden was lifted from his chest; he knew the pain would ease someday. But for now this was enough. A true friend that was kind enough to stay beside him. A true friend that was willing to console him. It was all he needed.

When Kaji ended his song and lowered his violin, Tsuchiura moved behind the violinist and circled his arms around his friend; he felt weak to stand alone, "Thank you."

Tsuchiura need not move his position, but he was able to feel that Kaji was smiling, "Tsuchiura-kun, if you don't mind, we can spend our Christmas together. I have nothing much to do anyway."

This time it was Tsuchiura's turn to smile, "Then we can drink _sake_ again."

"Again?! But you'll have to promise not to push yourself too far. If not this time I'll leave you alone there. Do you have any idea how long did I take to bring you here?!"

"Hahaha!" Tsuchiura released Kaji from his grip, "Yes, I promise."

That was how the two friends spent their sleep over together; talking and fussing about themselves, staying up the whole night laughing till their throat were exhausted. But nevertheless they felt warm, despite the wind howling and the snow falling outside. Because they were together.

* * *

The End

A/N: Read and Reviews please..? Tell me what you think..? ^^

Merry (be-early) Christmas!


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